[calcowgirl]

Tollways are increased taxes.

From what I've seen, current budgets have continued to bypass Proposition 42 funding of transportation (and are planning to do so for the next two years, according to the proposed "spending control" measure). It leaves us with highways in need of repair and is prohibiting the investment in new infrastructure.

The people of California have been consistently paying taxes to fulfill transportion needs. Unfortunately, Sacramento has continued to divert those funds to other social programs.

Now, they are going to make you pay again.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Well I can understand the problem with diversion of transportation funds. But are you sure that if there were no diversions, there would still be enough money to cover highway needs? Because if not, either:

1) the roads don't get built
2) increase taxes are needed for roadbuilding
3) toll financing provides a way to privatize roadbuilding and get them (and the users) to fund it instead of a tax increase (confiscation without choice.) However it is important that the state put the risk of default on the toll builder.

Perhaps hard to calculate given that so much money is diverted to transit(which almost never covers its operating costs), but I guess that was mentioned on the prop. initiative (though percentages or amounts likely were not, correct?) But I bet the diversions to non-transportation programs sure weren't ever mentioned on the ballot.

[stopem]

Well tollways would definitely bring in enough money to take care of the budget problem for centuries with all the people on the roads out there (at least in so.cal).

And maybe than you all will get a taxcut. Sounds like you all need one bad.

[BobL]

I'm not sure which part of California you're from, but Southern California's experience with toll roads was such a disaster that Tom McClintock (one of the only REAL Republicans left in that state), went from being a huge supporter of toll roads (particularly private ones) to a huge opponent - once he saw how the drivers and the state got shafted.

Checkout the LA Times article just less than halfway down on this site (and accept my apologies for using a left-wing site, but it's certainly better than having to pay to use the LA Times archive to retrieve it). The article was written in 2002, and, at the time, it was essentially an obituary on toll roads for California. So, trust your instincts on this, you're right.

http://bicycleaustin.info/rogerbaker/tollroad-failure.html


As an update on the above article, the Orange County Toll Roads are now charging right around 20 cents per mile, and have very little traffic (no coincidence there </sarcasm>), while the SR-91 (Riverside Freeway) toll lanes now charge 70 cents per mile at peak hours.

Arnold may not directly raise your taxes, but it will get ugly out there if you don't have copious amounts of cash (to borrow a California term).